Self-Interest vs. Altruism in the Global Era: How society can trun self-interests into mutual benefit

Self-Interest

vs.

Altruism

in the Global Era

How society can turn

self-interests into mutual benefit

Self-Interest

vs.

Altruism

in the Global Era

How society can turn

self-interests into mutual benefit

LAITMAN

KABBALAH PUBLISHERS

Michael Laitman, PhD

SELF-INTEREST VS. ALTRUISM IN THE GLOBAL ERA

How society can turn self-interests into mutual benefit

Copyright © 2011 by MICHAEL LAITMAN

All rights reserved

Published by Laitman Kabbalah Publishers

www.kabbalah.info       info@kabbalah.info

1057 Steeles Avenue West, Suite 532, Toronto, ON, M2R 3X1, Canada

2009 85th Street #51, Brooklyn, New York, 11214, USA

Printed in Canada

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

ISBN 978-1-897448-65-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011910435

Professional Consultation: Prof. Valeria Khachaturian,

Prof. Itzhak Orion, Dr. Yael Sanilevich, Dr. Eli Vinokur, and Mr. Ronen Avigdor

Copy Editor: Claire Gerus

Associate Editors: Alicia Goldman, Brad Hall,

Charles Bowman, Dan Berkovitch, Eric Belfer,

Gilbert Marquez, James Torrance, Keren Applebaum,

Noga Burnot, Rachel Branson, Riggan Shilstone, and

Tom Dorben.

Layout: Baruch Khovov

Cover: Rami Yaniv

Producer: Leah Goldberg

Executive Editor: Chaim Ratz

Producer and Publisher: Uri Laitman

FIRST EDITION: MARCH 2012

FIRST PRINTING

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Professor Michael Laitman was born in 1946 in Vitebsk, Belarus. He received his Professorship in Ontology and the Theory of Knowledge, and his PhD in Philosophy and Kabbalah from the Moscow Institute of Philosophy at the Russian Academy of Sciences. He received his MSc in Medical Cybernetics from St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University.

Prof. Laitman began his career conducting research at the St. Petersburg Blood Research Institute, specializing in electromagnetic regulation of the blood supply in the heart and brain.

His scientific career took a sharp turn in 1974 when he immigrated to Israel. There, he worked for the Israeli Air Force for several years before becoming self-employed.

In 1976, he began his studies of Kabbalah, which he continues to research to this day. In 1979, he came across Kabbalist Rav Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (1906-1991), known as Rabash. Rabash was the first-born son and successor of Kabbalist Rav Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag (1884-1954), known as Baal HaSulam for his Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar. Rabash followed his father’s scientific approach in the teaching of Kabbalah, which suited Laitman very well.

After Rabash’s demise in 1991, Laitman began to teach what he had learned from his teacher, passing on the methodology of Baal HaSulam.

Laitman firmly believes that Kabbalah holds the solution to the current world crises. For this reason, he asserts that Kabbalah belongs to all of humanity, and not to any single person or group of persons. Therefore, he insists on teaching Kabbalah to everyone, regardless of age, sex, nationality, or race.

To date, Prof. Laitman has been teaching Kabbalah for over thirty years, relying on the writings of Baal HaSulam and Rabash. He has already published more than thirty books on Kabbalah, among which are The Zohar: Annotations to the Ashlag Commentary, Kabbalah, Science and the Meaning of Life, From Chaos to Harmony, Attaining the Worlds Beyond, and Kabbalah Revealed.

His website, www.kabbalah.info , is the largest source of authentic Kabbalah on the web, offering authentic Kabbalah materials in over 30 languages, and free introductory courses in Kabbalah. His daily lessons are broadcast live and free of charge on Israeli TV, as well as on www.kab.tv in English, Spanish, Russian, German, French, Turkish, German, and Hebrew.

EDITOR’S NOTE

The writing of Self-Interest vs. Altruism in the Global Era, which aims to explain the evolution of existence originally seemed an unrealistic objective. It appeared to be especially challenging in light of the scientific, as well as Kabbalistic, angle the book was to take. And yet, with the help of many good friends from around the world, we have successfully completed the task.

I feel it is my duty to thank each of those who contributed to the effort, and I apologize if anyone has been inadvertently omitted. In my view, this book is the creation of a group, rather than the work of a few proficient individuals, and this is where its merit lies.

Below is the list (in order of the alphabet) of people who contributed their time, effort, and often money to the completion of Self-Interest vs. Altruism in the Global Era :

Research and proofreading (usually both): Anastasia Cherniavski, Annabelle Fogerty, Asaf Ohayon, Asta Rafaeli, Avraham Cohen, Beth Shillington, Christiane Reinstrom, Crystlle Medansky, Daniel Lange, Eli Gabay, Geoffrey Best, James Torrance, Jonathan Libesman, Julie Schroeder, Kimberlene Ludwig, Loredana Losito, Markos Zografos, Marlene Bricker, Michael R. Kellogg, Michal Karpolov, Pete Matassa, Peter LaTona, Sandra Armstrong, Shari L. Kellogg, Veronica Mengana, Yehudith Sabal, and Zhanna Allen.

Editors: Alicia Goldman, Brad Hall, Charles Bowman, Dan Berkovitch, Eric Belfer, Gilbert Marquez, James Torrance, Keren Applebaum, Noga Burnot, Rachel Branson, Riggan Shilstone, and Tom Dorben.

Production: Leah Goldberg

Administration: Avihu Sofer, Alex Rain (images).

I’d also like to extend my deepest gratitude to Prof. Valeria Khachaturian, Prof. Itzhak Orion, Dr. Yael Sanilevich, Dr. Eli Vinokur, and Mr. Ronen Avigdor for reviewing the scientific, historic, and financial information presented in the book.

And last but certainly not least, kudos to Baruch Khovov, the designer who always delivers, to Rami Yaniv, who responded to a last-minute request to design the cover, to Claire Gerus, an editor whose work has been an emblem of quality to me, and of course, to Uri Laitman, our publisher, whose dedication and diligence are an inspiration to all who work with him.

Sincerely,

Chaim

FOREWORD

Isuppose all children go through a period of asking the big questions. Mine were, Where do we come from? Where do we go when we are no longer here? and especially, What is the purpose of life? Perhaps it is because both my parents were doctors that I felt naturally inclined to seek the answers in science. And perhaps because I was searching in science, the answers I found were of a more inclusive and general nature.

My science of choice was cybernetics—medical bio-cybernetics, to be exact. This was to be my research tool. At the time, cybernetics was a new and innovative field of research, enabling scientists to explore complex systems and to find the mechanisms controlling them. I was particularly interested in the human body and its control systems. Through cybernetics, I had endeavored to unlock the secret of human existence itself: the body and the soul that (so I believed) inhabited it.

But my hopes were thwarted. Yes, science had taught me a great deal about life, or rather, about how a new life begins and how it is sustained. Yet, it taught me nothing about the more fundamental questions of meaning that drove my research: what is life and what is it for?

The craving to decipher life’s meaning kept me on my toes, probing every shred of data I could find. I continued my search in science, philosophy, and even religion until I gained a plethora of new knowledge and understanding of life. But just as with my initial experience with cybernetics, none of these seemed to address my deepest questions of meaning and purpose.

And then one day, I suddenly reached the conclusion of my lengthy quest when I unexpectedly came across what I later discovered was a science called, Kabbalah. In retrospect, no part of my search had been redundant or regrettable. Science, philosophy, and religion were all necessary stops on my way to Kabbalah, though I never really stopped at any of them. Each of them contributed to my understanding of life’s meaning and the purpose of human existence, and each now takes its rightful place in the whole, and (might I add) wholesome worldview that Kabbalah helped me establish.

Moreover, I discovered a connection between the purpose of human existence and the multiple global crises that the world now faces. Through Kabbalah, I acknowledged the inevitability of these crises, their inevitable resolution in peace and prosperity, and the free choice that we have in how we resolve them—by collaborating and cooperating, but mostly by becoming aware of our unity and interdependence. More than anything, I discovered that the ancient Kabbalistic concepts on human relations provide a platform on which to build viable societies that promote such amicable relations.

The concept that the current global threats are preordained is not my own. Neither is the idea that the crises are a springboard to a reality that exceeds our wildest dreams. Both notions have existed for millennia, but have only now begun to surface because it is the first time that a necessary, twofold condition has been met: people are desperate enough to seek a solution, and a clear enough explanation of that solution is available. As for my role in the unfolding of these concepts, it is to serve as presenter and facilitator. Yet, as much as I believe in the validity of these ideas, by no means do I claim proprietary rights to them. They are solutions and ideas that I have learned from my teachers throughout the years.

As I hope to show in the chapters ahead, contemporary science and modern thinking now make it possible to meet these conditions and to unveil the age-old paradigm explained in the science of Kabbalah. Thanks to quantum physics, which dared to challenge the Newtonian paradigm of reality, we can deem such concepts as the oneness of reality worthy of consideration. And thanks to philosophy, which devoutly cultivated the idea of free thought, we can now share ideas and learn from one another.

Hence, while the concepts I am about to introduce are entirely Kabbalistic, I will show that many of them parallel with modern science. It is my hope that in the spirit of pluralism, they will be met with an open mind and an open heart. And if the views presented here invoke contemplation in even one reader, I will be fully rewarded.

Michael Laitman

INTRODUCTION

At the time these words are written, the world is still reeling from the longest recession since the Second World War. Tens of millions of people throughout the world have lost their jobs, their savings, their homes, but most important—their hopes for the future.

Our health, it seems, is not more wholesome than our wealth. Modern medicine, the pride and joy of Western civilization, is grappling with resurfacing diseases previously believed to be extinct. According to a report published by the Global Health Council, Diseases once believed to be under control have re-emerged as major global threats. The emergence of drug-resistant strains of bacteria, viruses and other parasites poses new challenges in controlling infectious diseases. Co-infection with multiple diseases creates obstacles to preventing and treating infections.¹

Earth, too, is not as hospitable as before. Books such as James Lovelock’s The Revenge of Gaia, ² Ervin Laszlo’s The Chaos Point, ³ and films such as Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth are just three examples of a cavalcade of alarming reports on Earth’s deteriorating climate.

As global warming melts the ice caps in the poles, sea levels rise. This has already caused dramatic shifts and tragic events. A report by Stephan Faris in Scientific American⁴ lists some of the places already affected by climate change. In Darfur, clashes between nomadic and sedentary tribes that broke out due to a decades-long drought escalated into a rebellion against the Sudanese government’s neglect. Subsequently, the crisis spilled over into Chad and the Central African Republic.

Also in that report, the Pacific island nation of Kiribati declared its lands uninhabitable and asked for help in evacuating its population. In March, 2009, Peter Popham, a writer for The Independent, provided another angle to the climate predicament: Global warming is dissolving the Alpine glaciers so rapidly that Italy and Switzerland have decided they must re-draw their national borders to take account of the new realities.⁵

A more tragic result of climate change is hunger, caused by extended droughts in some areas and constant flooding in others. According to the World Food Programme, nearly a billion (1,000,000,000) people worldwide are constantly hungry. Worse yet, in excess of nine million (9,000,000) people die every year from hunger and related causes, more than half of whom are children.⁶ This means that today, in the most technologically advanced era in the history of humankind, a child dies every six seconds due to lack of food and water.

In our homes, problems abound, as well. The New York Times ⁷ announced that according to a census released by the American Community Survey, divorce rates have risen to the point that today there are more unmarried couples in America than married ones. It is the first time in history that single-parent families are the norm, and double-parent ones are the exception.

Many scientists, politicians, NGOs, and UN related organizations warn that humanity is facing a risk of unprecedented catastrophes on a global scale. Anything from mutated avian flu through nuclear war, to a massive earthquake could wipe out millions and drive billions into destitution.

Yet, crises have been occurring throughout history. Our era is not the first in which humanity has been at risk. The Black Death pandemic of the 14th century and the two World Wars easily outweigh the peril that our current plight presents. Nevertheless, what distinguishes the current crisis from those previous is the tension characterizing the current state of humanity. Our society has gone to the extreme in two directions that seem to conflict with one another—globalization and the interdependence it entails on the one hand, and increasing alienation and personal, social, and political narcissism on the other. And that is a recipe for a disaster such as the world has never seen, whether in the financial sector or beyond.

Today, globalization concerns far more than financial interdependence. We have become globally interconnected in every realm of life: the computers and TVs we use to entertain ourselves come (primarily but not exclusively) from China, Taiwan, and Korea. The cars we drive are assembled (again, primarily) in Japan, Europe, and the U.S., but their parts are made in numerous other countries. The clothes we wear often arrive from India and China, while the food in our refrigerators comes from all over the world.

What’s more, throughout the world people watch Hollywood films and learn English by the millions. In fact, of the approximately 1.4 billion English speakers worldwide, only 450 million are native English speakers, and China alone produces over twenty million new English speakers each year, reports the Asia Times in a September 15, 2006 story titled, ‘Native English’ is losing its power. ⁸

On March 8, 2009, Wachovia Corp. economist, Mark Vitner, gave a rather palpable description of the world’s globalized situation when he described the interconnectedness of the credit markets on MSNBC: It’s like trying to unscramble scrambled eggs. It just can’t be done that easily. I don’t know if it can be done at all. ⁹

But the problem with globalization is not only that it makes us interconnected; it also makes us interdependent, and instead of using these interconnections to thrive, we become engaged in a constant tug of war. What would happen to the oil-rich countries if the world suddenly shifted to wind and solar energy? What would happen to America if China stopped buying dollars? What would happen to China, Japan, India, and Korea if Americans had no dollars with which to buy Asian-produced goods? And if Western tourists ceased to travel, what would become of the hundreds of millions of people all over the world who provide for their families, thanks to Westerners’ hedonism?

Journalist fareed Zakaria eloquently described this entanglement in a Newsweek article titled, Get out the Wallets: The world needs Americans to spend: If I were told by the economic gods that I could have the answer to one question about the fate of the global economy… I would ask, ‘When will the American consumer start spending again?’¹⁰ Indeed, we have become a global village, completely reliant on one another for our sustenance.

Yet, interdependence is only a part of today’s complicated picture. While we have been growing increasingly global, we have also become increasingly self-centered, or as psychologists Jean M. Twenge and Keith Campbell describe it, increasingly narcissistic.¹¹ In their insightful book, The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement, Twenge and Campbell talk about what they refer to as The relentless rise of narcissism in our culture, ¹² and the problems it causes. They explain that The United States is currently suffering from an epidemic of narcissism. …narcissistic personality traits rose just as fast as obesity. Worse yet, they continue, The rise in narcissism is accelerating, with scores rising faster in the 2000s than in previous decades. By 2006, 1 out of 4 college students agreed with the majority of the items on a standard measure of narcissistic traits. Today, as singer Little Jackie put it, many people feel that ‘Yes siree, the whole world should revolve around me.’ ¹³ In Webster’s Dictionary, narcissism